This invention relates to providing a system for improved printable magnetic sheet materials compatible with high-volume roll-to-roll printing processes using roll-fed presses.
Direct-mail advertising via the postal service, or other delivery services, remains a useful means for communicating with customers. The effectiveness of direct-mail advertising is frequently correlated with the time and frequency of exposure of the customer to the target message. The inclusion of message-imprinted “refrigerator-type” magnets within direct-mail advertising has been shown to increase the effectiveness of the advertising, as customers tend to retain these magnets when compared to other printed media. For this reason, technologies providing improved methods of producing and distributing such products would be of benefit to many.
Flexographic presses and similar “roll-to-roll” printing apparatus are widely implemented in large-volume print production processes. Roll-fed print lines are known to utilize various post-print processing equipment, including, rotary die cutters and label applicators, etc.; however, most roll-to-roll equipment combinations are incapable of processing the type of sheet-feed products commonly used in the production of “refrigerator-type” magnets. For example, a typical roll-to-roll production line is not likely to contain the kinds of stacked-sheet-handling apparatus customarily utilized in lower-volume sheet-fed printing processes (i.e., guillotine shears, sheet tipping and other sheet-handling equipment, etc.).
Modification of equipment to provide additional sheet-handling capabilities within an existing roll-to-roll production line is costly. A means for providing enhanced capabilities within existing roll-to-roll production lines, without costly equipment modifications would be of great benefit to the field.